Clients considering going public in the small and microcap world often encounter consultants, public shell brokers and investment banks eager to advise them on the process. Sometimes clients meet them as a result of being cold-called, in other cases solid references make the connection.
Clients ask...

We now commence diving into details of questions to ask potential advisors looking to take a company public. One of the most important threshold questions is: Can we benefit long-term from being a public company, and if so why is it preferable to remaining private? Is my industry and stage of development...

In talking with folks who want to advise you about the going public process, it is key to determine the following: What costs should we expect to get public and then once we are public? Can you help us determine if we can afford to go and stay public? Too many companies go public without fully understanding...

If you work with folks who look to advise companies considering going public, it is of course important to ensure that they have good experience in doing so. Therefore, I believe two simple questions have to be asked of anyone you might bring on board to assist: How many companies have you advised that...

If you enjoy experiences in which you feel your head can explode, let someone knowledgeable and objective talk to you about all the different ways a company can go public. IPO. Self-underwriting. Self-filing through Form 10. Self-filing through Form S-1. Reverse merger with trading shell, non-trading...

By far the most common reason companies seek to go public is to access capital for growth. It is also very likely the first thing a going public advisor will discuss, namely his or her ability to assist you in bringing in that needed financing. So a critical question to ask the potential advisor is:...

They say there is no such thing as a free lunch. In Wall Street that is true for sure. So if you are considering going public through an advisor who specializes in helping companies do so, it is very important to understand what fees or other benefits the advisor intends to receive.
Of course part...

If you are working with a company that is offering to help you go public, hopefully you will insist on a variety of references. In prior posts we talked about meeting the last three CEOs that this advisor helped. This gives you a sense of whether they can show that they really achieve the things they...

Social media giant Twitter starts trading following its IPO today. One hopes the lessons of the Facebook IPO debacle are learned. In fact Facebook is now trading $14 above its IPO price, after a very disappointing start. Plus Twitter is choosing a day following a record high on the Dow Industrials index...

I have found that, while not absolutely critical, it can be very helpful in working with advisors who assist companies in going public if they have some knowledge and experience of the industry in which you operate. For certain members of the team you need to get public, like your auditors, that experience...

The number of companies with shares listed on U.S. stock exchanges increased last year compared to 2012, which is the first annual increase in the number of publicly traded companies in the U.S. since 1997, according to information from the World Federation of Exchanges . As reflected in a February 5...

Although the IPO pace is off from last year’s sizzling levels, the number of companies completing IPOs on U.S. exchanges remains at heightened levels. In addition, the number of completed IPOs picked up as the year progressed, suggesting that IPO activity in the U.S. in the year’s second...